Evaluation of an in vitro bloodfeeding system for testing mosquito repellents

Median effective doses and 95% effective doses of 9 commercial mosquito repellents were determined for the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, in an in vitro bloodfeeding test system and on the human forearm. Results obtained in the 2 test systems did not differ significantly but, because of the inherent variability of repellent test data, did not always agree closely. Potential modifications of in vitro bloodfeeding test systems for increased accuracy, precision, and reliability are discussed.